
Star profile
Gamma 2 Delphinus
What is Gamma 2 Delphinus
Gamma-2 Delphini forms, with its brighter companion Gamma-1, one of the finest visual binaries in the summer sky: two pale-gold suns some 126 light-years away, set in the small dolphin like a double droplet at the creature’s muzzle. It is a tempered orange K-type giant, and the pair splits cleanly through any amateur telescope, offering one of the most rewarding views for anyone meeting their first visual double in a calm summer night.
Where it is and when to see it
Gamma 2 Delphinus lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is August, when it culminates around midnight.
- From London it culminates about 55° above the horizon.
- From New York it culminates about 65° above the horizon.
- From Sydney it culminates about 40° above the horizon.
It can be seen from anywhere north of 74° S.
It ranks no. 4 in brightness among the 18 stars of Delphinus in our catalogue. To find it, start from Rotanev, the brightest: it lies about 3° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).
The light you see today left it about 130 years ago.
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Astronomical data for Gamma 2 Delphinus
- Constellation
- Delphinus
- Apparent magnitude
- 4.27
- Distance
- 126.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 311.665° · Dec 16.124°
- Catalogue
- HIP 102532 · HD 197964
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Other stars in Delphinus
Delphinus has 18 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- RotanevBeta Delphinus3.64
- SualocinAlpha Delphinus3.77
- AldulfinEpsilon Delphinus4.03
- Delta Delphinus4.43
- Zeta Delphinus4.64
- Kappa Delphinus5.07
- Gamma 1 Delphinus5.15
- 17 Delphinus5.19